FEMA has announced the award of a grant to the Holley-Navarre Fire District in the amount of $2.4 million to fund 12 firefighter positions for a period of three years as part of the SAFER grant program.
Holley-Navarre Fire District was selected from thousands of applicants to be one of 14 recipients throughout the State of Florida.
The SAFER program was created to provide funding directly to fire departments in order to help them increase the number of trained, “front line” firefighters to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA and OSHA.
“This is a big win for the Fire District and the citizens we serve, and although this presents a significant challenge, it is definitely needed to continue to meet the ever increasing demands for service,” said HNFD Chief Ron Norton.
The Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants are awarded for Fiscal Year 2020 from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and will cover payroll items as well as other benefits such as health insurance and pension contributions.
The Holley-Navarre Fire District Board of Fire Commissioners voted to accept the grant at the regular Board meeting on September 27, 2021.
Norton says the additional firefighter positions will bolster the Fire District’s
current operations staffing from 29 full time firefighters to 41.
The 12 additional full time firefighters could begin working as early as February 27, 2022.
